Whitecaps FC fall at home to FC Dallas on Wednesday

VANCOUVER, BC - In their final home match in the month of August, Vancouver Whitecaps FC (10W-8L-7D) suffered a 2-0 home defeat to Western Conference rivals FC Dallas (7W-11L-8D) on Wednesday evening.

Second-half goals by Fabian Castillo and substitute Jonathan Top gave the Texas-based outfit only their second away win of the season and their third victory in Vancouver in MLS history.

Though they created chances, Whitecaps FC went down to only their second home defeat in MLS this season. The midweek result closed the gap between Vancouver and Dallas to eight points in the Western Conference standings, though the ‘Caps have a game in hand on The Hoops.

“It was a disappointing night - a frustrating game for us,” said Whitecaps FC head coach Martin Rennie. “Thankfully, we haven’t had many of these games here at BC Place. It’s not something we’re going to dwell upon. There are some things we can work on and improve upon. It was just one of those games that never really got going. It was stop-start all the time and there was never really much rhythm to it. We weren’t able to get the ball moving like we would’ve liked.”

POST MATCH
INTERVIEWS:

With five changes in his starting XI, Rennie’s side were left frustrated by the night’s proceedings. This included a first half that resulted in several stoppages and little flow to the game action on the pitch.

‘Caps stand-in captain Barry Robson and John Thorrington were off-target with first-half efforts, while Dallas were equally as wasteful after David Ferreira and Andrew Jacobson failed to test Whitecaps FC goalkeeper Joe Cannon, who returned to the starting line-up after a one-match suspension.

There were also two bookings to Whitecaps FC before the break, with Martin Bonjour’s 34th-minute yellow card proving costly for the Blue and White, as the Argentine centre back will now miss Saturday’s crucial derby clash at Seattle Sounders FC through suspension.

The best chance of the opening half came on 45 minutes, as Camilo Sanvezzo struck the crossbar with a powerfully-hit free kick from the edge of the FC Dallas box.

The second half proved just as frustrating for the home side, who were looking for a second straight league result in their third kit of arbutus brown. After Dallas goalkeeper Kevin Hartman punched away Robson’s free-kick strike on 52 minutes, the visitors scored the match winner on the hour mark.

Zach Loyd’s forward throw-in was flicked into the path of Castillo by fellow Colombian Ferreira on the edge of the Vancouver box. The youngster broke into the box and managed to finish past Cannon, while on the ground, for his fourth goal of the season.

It was a disappointing goal for the Blue and White to concede, and as they pushed forward in search of an equalizer, Dallas sealed their second straight league win in the 70th minute on the counter attack.

Jair Benitez’s forward ball allowed Ferreira to elude his Whitecaps FC marker and set up a streaking Top to score his first goal in MLS from close range and make it 2-0 to The Hoops.

Facing an uphill task to turn the match around, Vancouver created chances in the late stages. On 75 minutes, Camilo was unfortunate to deflect Jun Marques Davidson’s goal-bound shot wide, while Alain Rochat headed a Robson free kick wide at the far post on 84 minutes.

It made no difference to the outcome, as Whitecaps FC endured a rare night to forget at BC Place. There was a notable moment on 81 minutes, as Whitecaps FC Residency product Caleb Clarke made his MLS debut when he replaced fellow striker Kenny Miller in attack.

Whitecaps FC will wrap up a very busy week of league action with a short trip down Interstate 5 on Saturday to take on Cascadia Cup rivals Seattle in a crucial Western Conference encounter at CenturyLink Field.